I know it's a bit early but theres nothing like being prepared is there! We recently reviewed some bibs from Funky Giraffe Baby. You can see our review here As Father's Day is coming up we have a set of two Funky Giraffe Bibs bandana bibs to give away to one lucky winner.

We were recently sent some Father's Day themed Funky Giraffe Bibs to review. We received a set of two lovely bibs with different Daddy slogans on them. The first, a red one with the slogan 'Daddies are cool, but mummies rule' and the second, a green bib with the slogan 'Daddy's Little Princess' underneath a crown motif.

We've been testing out the Mini Evo for about a month now and what a month it's been! We've done all sorts of exciting things including test drives in the snow, we tackled public transport, attended a gNappies gTea as well as numerous shopping trips, baby groups and trips to the park. We have blogged and taken lots of pictures! We have thoroughly enjoyed putting it through it's paces. We were big Graco fans already but our love has certainly grown! The ambassador competition is coming to an end and here are our final thoughts on the Evo Mini...

Before I was chosen to test the Evo Mini I was looking for a small folding pushchair suitable for holidays and days out and just didn't know where to start. After coming across a few blogger reviews from previous Graco ambassadors on the Evo Mini I was very intrigued, so applied to be one of their latest testers. I never thought in a million years that I would be picked and I'm very grateful to Graco for giving me a chance to try it out.

Graco have been very ambitious with their plans to put so many features on a small stroller but boy have they pulled it off! The stroller itself weighs just 6.2kg. It is suitable from birth to 15kg (approx 3 years). When I started testing Gracie weighed 13kg and Zach weighed 7.6kg and even though Gracie is on the higher end of the scale she has plenty of room to grow. I've always found it hard to find pushchairs big enough for her as she is extremely tall for her age but she fits very comfortably in it and the luxurious cushioned seat definitely helps with comfort! It is ultra lightweight and manoeuvrable, it is actually surprising how light it is to push I can easily push it one-handed even up and down curbs which is very useful when trying to push the pushchair and hold Gracie's hand. The one handed fold is so handy when you need to take a small baby out so you can hold them and fold without a struggle. If your baby still enjoys a nap in the pushchair you'll be pleased to know you can recline it as much or as little as you want and it is so simple you can do it without even disturbing them. The basket is huge for a stroller there is more than enough room for everything I need when going out for the day and the basket is accessible even when the pushchair is fully reclined. The front wheels are lockable and removable making the pushchair perfect for most terrains as you can lock them to help push it straight and you can easily clean the wheels if they get covered in mud, snow or sand etc. We have found that it is the perfect pushchair for use on public transport and it has restored my faith in taking a pushchair on public transport with both kids. The Evo Mini fold very small with dimensions of Length: 79.8 x Width:48.3 x Height:22cm. It is the only pushchair we have owned that doesn't rely on us removing the parcel shelf or taking it apart to fit in the boot and I can even fit my weeks food shopping with it in the boot.

There are only a few small things that could improve the Evo Mini and that is the range of colours, they could add a co-ordinating footmuff and they could make it freestanding whilst closed in the locked position. These are little things that don't actually bother me but I think may help for it to become THE perfect pushchair. Aside from these few cons I would most definitely reccommend this pushchair to anyone looking for a sturdy yet lightweight stroller there are no similar alternatives. If I was to rate this pushchair I would rate it a 5*

The Evo Mini comes complete with raincover and so far comes in two gorgeous colours Grenadine, an orangey colour, this is the one we are testing and Latigo Bay, a beautiful turquoise colour, which I haven't had the privilege to see in the flesh yet! The Graco Evo Mini is exclusive to Mothercare and is available for £179.99.

If you would like to see more photos of our Graco Evo Mini journey then check out this post. I'd like to thank Graco for this fantastic opportunity. I'd also like to thank Mandi at Hex Mum, Kate at Family Fever and Jen at My Mummy's Pennies for generously letting me 'guest post' on their blogs to share my thoughts on the Graco Mini Evo with their readers.

Disclaimer:
I was sent the pushchair featured free for an ongoing review and have been competing for a role as a 'Graco Ambassador'. All views in this and my previous posts have been my own.

Yesterday we braved the showers stuck on some warm clothes and wellies and headed to the park. As we pulled up at the park the sky looked lovely and blue again. Perfect for jumping in the muddy puddles left by the rain! We stuck Zach in the pushchair with the raincover over him ready for any more sudden showers and off we went.

As a kid I always loved to dress up! whether it was at home playing role play in my disney costumes or for some kind of school event. I went to a great school where every year we would study a different event in history and would celebrate with a themed day dressing in traditional costume with days such as Greek day, Roman Day and we even had a Blitz night. For each of these we would wear costumes, try traditional foods and do lessons and crafts based around the certain era. It was fantastic fun and I have so many fond memories of my primary school. Gracie is due to start Nursery at the same school this september and i'm hoping she will love it as much as I did.

When I was younger my favourite dressing up costume was apparantly Esmeralda from Disney film The Hunchback of Notre Dame, complete with big plastic hoop earrings. My Mum and Dad love to laugh at me now for it I just wish there was some picture evidence!

Gracie seems to have inherited my love for Dressing Up play and has a wooden toy bench full of different costumes. She has a few Disney Princess dresses, a fairy dress, a pirate costume, a kitchen apron set and even a Kermit the Frog 3D costume! She would quite happily wear dressing up clothes everyday if she could and the past week she quite literally has. We've had lots of fun having imaginative play pretending she is her favourite characters whilst dancing around the room. She has quite the imagination! Here are a few piccies of her in action!

Today was Andy's day off, the sun was shining and apart from a few hail showers the weather was pretty good. We decided to take Gracie out we thought we would stick some wellies on and go to the park or something to get both the kids some fresh air and go for a walk in the woodlands.

Well we got the kids fed and ready to go, was just about to leave the house when I heard 'oh no Gracie has been playing with my keys'. Then came the two and a half hours searching the entire house for the keys that i've warned him a million times to keep away from a toddler who loves to hide things. You'd think he'd learn the last two times she's 'lost' them.

The two of us practically turned the house upside down I checked all the bedrooms; inside draws, toy boxes, shoes, bags, cupboards, beds. I checked the toilet, bath, sink and even the bin. I went outside to see if they'd been posted out the letterbox there was no sign. All the while Andy was checking through everywhere downstairs. I must have asked Gracie a million times and all she said was 'there gone', 'in kitchen', 'Daddy lost them' and she took me to lots of her hiding places with no luck.

Just as we had given up and admitted defeat and I'd settled Zach down to play. Andy came strolling down the stairs keys in hand and where were the keys? They were in his work trousers from last night. Which ironically was the first place he looked before blaming Gracie!

By this time it was too late for a day out so we settled for a McDonalds followed by a little walk and playtime in the garden. At least we managed to salvage a few hours from our 'lost day'!

Ever since I've had Zach I've been trying and failing to lose weight. Before I had kids I loved my body, well I was happy with the way I looked and liked to be able to wear whatever I wanted. Unfortunately I inherited awful skin off my mum and so I got covered in stretch marks after having Gracie.

No matter how many creams and potions I lathered myself with daily whilst pregnant it didn't help. Eventually over time they started to fade but of course they never disappear. Not only did I have big stretchy lines all over my body but I gained the dreaded 'pouch' from having a C Section. It took a long time doing lots of walking, exercise and cutting down on fatty foods for me to finally get down to my pre pregnancy weight. It had taken my 12 months and I was very proud!

Then just a month later I realised I was pregnant again. A happy surprise but it meant my body went completely downhill again! Now Zach is six months old, summer is approaching and my attempts so far to try and tone up have well and truly failed! I'm being defeated daily by my awful cravings for chocolate! I'm desperate to shed a few pounds so I can treat myself to some nice new clothes and finally chuck out my baggy maternity clothes.

Now that I've admitted this publicly I must do something about it so I can eventually share a proud post when I've got myself to a point where I am once again happy with my body. I need to find some yummy healthy dishes and snacks as well as some child friendly ways to exercise so any comments or tips are more than welcome!

Sometimes words are not enough so here is a look at our Graco journey there will be some pictures you may recognise from my Pinterest board and some from my previous blog posts, others are totally new! These pictures show just how much fun we've had over the last few weeks and how the Graco Evo Mini will always be remembered in some of our favourite family snaps!

Thank you to Graco for this amazing opportunity!

DISCLAIMER:
we were sent the pushchair featured for an ongoing review but all views and opinions are my own.

This is a very special week for Cloth using mums. It's Real Nappy Week 2013. The idea is to raise awareness for the new generation of cloth nappies.

Many companies have got lots of offers and competitions at the moment which is great for anyone thinking of trying some! I bought my first ever cloth nappy during last years Real Nappy Week and my collection is still steadily growing.

If you are looking for offers, competitions or advice pop over to Mymummyspennies blog page. There are lists of current offers and competitions from lots of different companies on her blog. Jen was one of the people that helped me with lots of advice when I was looking into using cloth. Even with what seemed like millions of stupid questions I had trying to get my head around it all, she was always there to help me. Everyday this week she will be publishing guest posts from different people about their experiences (look out for mine coming up sometime later in the week). Also Wednesday night at 8pm on Mymummyspennies Facebook page there will be a cloth nappy week chat with Babipur as a guest to answer your cloth nappy questions. If your free at that time tomorrow night I suggest you take a look, ask some questions or if you already use cloth you can offer your own guidance and advice to other mums. There will be prizes on offer for those that join in!

I haven't had a good look yet but I'm on the look out for some new nappies to try as well as a wetbag, since mine sadly died this week! And some cute baby legs for the summer (if it ever arrives). If I see some good offers I will post them on my Facebook page HERE. Feel free to post any you see on my wall for me to share them. I've already posted my first bargain of the week on there!

For the past few weeks Zach has been testing out a Lindam Jump About door bouncer. It arrived in a small box which immediately made me think 'oh no I'm gonna have to build something'. I was pleasantly surprised as there was no building involved!

This past week has been pretty amazing for the kids and I couldn't be more proud of them both! We have been rather busy which is why I've been missing in action. At the weekend we took down the cotbed in Gracie's bedroom and replaced it with a new big girl bed and she has taken to her new bed very well. The cotbed no has the sides back on and is in Zach's room, which he moved into on Saturday. He has been sleeping better than ever in his cot and it is so strange having a baby free bedroom!

As well as the big bedroom move, Zach has learnt to sit unaided. It is so cute seeing him sitting playing with his toys and he is also getting ready to crawl he can get right up on his hands and knees trying to go. It definitely won't be long until I'm chasing him around the room. It amazes me how different kids are at this age Gracie had only just learnt to roll over and had no interest in moving about, whereas Zach is trying to follow his big sister everywhere she goes.

After all this I didn't think anything would shock me anymore this week until last night. Gracie decided she wanted to sit on the potty after months of being too scared to go near it. With a few distractions I managed to get her to sit on there for around an hour and thought she was never going to do anything. Then she did her first wee on the potty! I was so happy for her and she loved all the praise she got afterwards especially as I now owe her a present for being such a big girl! Hopefully this means we can get her dry before she starts Nursery in September :)

Not only were the people at WOW Toys lovely enough to send us a Cupcake Chloe toy to review recently. If you haven't already you can read our review here. They have allowed me to run a competition for all of my lovely readers. One lucky winner will have the choice to of either a Cupcake Chloe or a Johnny Jungle Plane playset. Both pictured below.

Cupcake Chloe

Johnny Jungle Plane

For your chance to win follow the rafflecopter instructions below.

Terms and Conditions
The giveaway is open for entrants worldwide. The competition will end at 12.00am (BST) on 18th April 2013. The winner will be emailed within 48 hours of the competition ending with details of how to claim their prize. If the winner does not claim their prize within 7 days we will have to redraw.

When I started to test the Evo Mini I was curious as to whether it would be suitable for different types of public transport. To be perfectly honest I dont use public transport often. I find it too much hassle with two small children but I do know that it is essential for lots of parents. In the past week I've used the Evo Mini on both a train and a bus.